Julien

21. "This ends here."

Marina

Present

I float in and out of consciousness. I feel Julien by my side. He holds my hand in his own and strokes the back of my fingers with his thumb. It's a soothing rhythm that causes me to drift away. I used to have trouble sleeping, but now with Julien by my side, I find it easier to let my guard down enough to sleep.

Unlike before, my dreams are no longer plagued with nightmares of the past, but hopes and dreams for the future. My subconscious refuses to let Giovanni continue to torment me, even in my sleep and for that, I am grateful.

He's gone and he'll never be able to hurt you again.

I feel Julien's warmth recede in my sleep and begin to panic for a moment before calming myself. I'm stuck in a dream that I never want to leave. A dream I pray comes to fruition. We're together. I feel Julien's body heat surrounding me. My hands dig into the soft comforter beneath me as I stare up at him. His dark eyes show lust and devotion. He lowers his lips over mine in a kiss that's equal part tender and equal part loving. He ravishes my mouth with his tongue and I moan into his mouth. I feel his hardness brush against my softness and he slowly enters me. His lips never leave my own and I can barely tell where my his body begins and mine ends. He rocks into me slowly, deliciously filling me to the brim and pauses to give me time to adapt to his girth. He swallows my moans and whimpers of pleasure and I'm just about to pull away and beg him to move when he pulls out and slowly pushes back in.

My body hums. The corners of his lips tilt in a slight grin and he devours every sound I make. He pulls away to give himself enough time to tell me he loves me against my lips. He makes love to me until we both reach our climax before it fades away. We're still together as the scene changes, by the sea. I can feel the salty spray in my hair. His warm hand is wrapped around my own and he tugs me close to his side as we walk along the beach. I almost stumble over a piece of driftwood and he grabs my elbow to steady me. "Careful. We don't want you two getting hurt." Julien's eyes are filled with worry and in this scenario, I don't hate it.

I look down at my stomach and see I'm barely showing, but apparently I'm pregnant. I place my hand over my small bump and Julien smiles.
Then a shadow passes over his face. The warm ocean breeze turns frigid. It stings my cheeks like needles. I desperately look to Julien as the wind howls. He lets go of my elbow and grabs my shoulders so tight that I cry out. His eyes are filled with worry and desperation. "Wake up! You have to wake up, Mari!"

"What? Why?"

He shakes my hard. "Dammit! Wake up! Wake up! Wake--"

My eyes snap open and before anything else, I look to where Julien was sitting earlier and see him gone. Then I flick my eyes to Blade and see him on the ground face down beside the chair he once sat in. My eyes widen and I open my mouth to scream for Julien when a gloved hand prevents my efforts.

"Scream and I'll gut you like a fish."

The familiar voice chills me. I can see him out of the corner of my eye. He's a shadow, just like in my dream. I see the blue eyes that we share reflected in the silver blade he holds in front of him. He presses the blade against my throat and I say nothing.

"Now, you choose to be obedient."

I once again say nothing. The disturbing warmth of his leather glove presses into my skin and contrasts with the frosty blade against the vulnerable flesh of my jugular.

"I gave you everything. You could've been set for life. Giovanni would've taken care of you. You would never had wanted for anything. Your children would've been provided for and you wouldn't have had a single care." He presses the knife harder and I stifle a whimper. "But you had to go and fuck it all up like the dumb bitch you are."